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Communication
“Any ac t by which one person gives to or rec eives from another person information about t hat
person’s needs, desires, percept ions, knowledge, or affec tive st at es. Communic at ion may be
int entional or unint entional, it may involve c onventional or unconventional signals, may t ake linguistic
or non- linguist ic forms, and may occ ur through spoken or other modes.”

Or in simple words;

Communic at ion is t he exc hange of ideas, opinions and information through writt en or spoken words,
symbols or ac tions.

Communication is a dialogue, not a monologue. In fact , c ommunic at ion is more conc erned with a
dual listening process. For c ommunic at ion t o be effective, t he message must mean t he same thing t o
both the sender and the rec eiver.

Business Communication
Business Communic at ion is any c ommunic at ion used to promote a produc t, service, or organizat ion –
wit h the objec tive of making sale.

In business communication, message is c onveyed through various channels of c ommunication

inc luding int ernet, print (public ations), radio, television, out door, and word of mouth.

In business, c ommunication is considered core among business, int erpersonal skills and etiquette.

Historical Background

Thousands years ago, people use to communicate orally. Greeks use a phonetic alphabet writ ten from
left t o right . Aft er that , many books appeared on writt en c ommunication princ iples. In a result of this,
Greek started her very first library.

When c ommunism was ruling China, c ommunic at ion had bec ome the biggest c hallenge within the vast
government as well as between government and people. 1st in China and t hen in Rome postal servic e
was launc hed. After that paper and print ing press was invent ed in c hina that made communic at ion
easier.

Henc e, today’s princ iples of c ommunications are founded on a mixt ure of ancient oral and writ ten
traditions.

Organization

The arrangements between individuals and groups in human soc iet y that st ructure relationships and
ac tivities (Business, Political, Religious or social).

In ot her words,

A group of people ident ified by shared int erests or purpose, for example, a “Bank”.

Lifeblood of an Organization

Communic at ion is t he lifeblood of an organizat ion. If we c ould somehow remove communication flows
from an organization, we would not have an organization.

It is needed for:

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Exc hanging information

Exc hanging options
Making plans and proposals
Reaching agreement
Executing decisions
Sending and fulfilling orders
Conduct ing sales

When c ommunic at ion stops, organized ac tivity c eases to exist. Individual unc oordinated ac tivit y
ret urns in an organization. So, Communic at ion in an organizat ion, is as vital as blood for life.

Types of Business Communication

There are t wo types of business c ommunication in an organization:

1. Internal Communication
2. Ext ernal Communication

1. Internal Communication
Communic at ion within an organization is c alled “Internal Communication”.

It inc ludes all c ommunic at ion wit hin an organizat ion. It may be informal or a formal func tion or
department providing communication in various forms to employees.

Effect ive int ernal c ommunication is a vit al mean of addressing organizat ional c oncerns. Good
c ommunic ation may help t o inc rease job sat isfac tion, safety, product ivity, and profit s and
dec rease grievances and t urnover.

Under Internal Business Communication types there c ome;

a) Upward Communication
b) Downward Communic at ion
c ) Horizontal/Literal c ommunication

a) Upward Communication

Upward communication is the flow of information from subordinat es to superiors, or from

employees t o management. Without upward communication, management works in a vacuum,
not knowing if messages have been rec eived properly, or if other problems exist in the
organization.

By definition, c ommunic ation is a two-way affair. Y et for effec tive two- way organizational
c ommunic ation to occ ur, it must begin from the bottom.

Upward Communication is a mean for st aff t o:

Exchange informat ion

Offer ideas
Express ent husiasm
Ac hieve job satisfact ion
Provide feedbac k

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b) Downward Communication

Information flowing from t he top of the organizat ional management hierarc hy and t elling people
in t he organization what is important (mission) and what is valued (polic ies).

Downward c ommunication generally provides enabling informat ion – which allows a subordinate
t o do somet hing.

e.g.: Instruc tions on how to do a t ask.

Downward c ommunication comes after upward communications have been suc cessfully
est ablished. This type of c ommunic at ion is needed in an organization to:

Transmit vit al information

Give instruc tions
Encourage 2-way discussion
Announce dec isions
Seek c ooperat ion
Provide mot ivation
Boost morale
Inc rease effic iency
Obtain feedback

Both Downward & Upward Communications are collect ively c alled “Vertic al
Communication”

c) Horizontal/Literal communication

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Horizont al communication normally involves c oordinat ing informat ion, and allows people with the
same or similar rank in an organizat ion t o cooperate or c ollaborat e. Communication among
employees at t he same level is c ruc ial for the ac complishment of work.Horizontal
Communic at ion is essential for:

Solving problems
Ac complishing tasks
Improving t eamwork
Building goodwill
Boosting efficiency

2. External Communication
Communic at ion with people outside the company is c alled “ext ernal c ommunication”.
Supervisors communic at e with sources outside the organization, such as vendors and
c ustomers.
It leads to bet ter;

Sales volume
Public c redibility
Operat ional effic ienc y
Company profits

It should improve

Overall performanc ee
Public goodwill
Corporate image

Ultimately, it helps to ac hieve

Organizat ional goals

Cust omer satisfact ion

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